Puzzle & Dragons developer valued at $15 billion

Puzzle & Dragons developer GungHo Entertainment has taken to new heights after being valued at more than $15 billion.

Only a couple weeks ago did the company’s stock take a huge rise to $9 billion on the back of new game announcements related to its hugely popular free-to-play puzzle and RPG hybrid title.

But, as reported by The Wall Street Journal, the firm’s value has risen a further $6 billion since the end of last month, with its share price jump almost 29 per cent to value the company at $15 billion.

Serkantoto also reports that after generating $113 million in April alone through iOS and Android, GungHo is raking in $3.76 million a day.

The increase puts GungHo slightyl ahead of console giant Nintendo in value on the Japanese market, which is worth around $15 billion, and most of that is on the back of a single game. The company is also worth more than mobile gaming rival DeNA, which has a market cap of $4.3 billion, and other mobile and social gaming outfits such as Gree and Zynga.

Puzzle & Dragons is believed to have accrued around 13 million users since its release in on iOS in Japan in February last year, and later on Android in September, with the number of users continuing to rise rapidly.

GungHo recently launched a spinoff to its hit title, Puzzle & Dragons Challenge, and is also currently developing a DS version of the game.

An English version of the hit title has also been released on Android, with an iOS version expected later this year.

Japanese Telecomms giant Softbank recently invested $265 million to gain a majority holding in the company at 58.5 per cent, on the back of the studio’s barnstorming success, which shows little sign of abating.